Prolonged hot weather is on track to threaten or set a new monthly heat record in the Texas High Plains cotton area. The hot weather hasnΆt been paired with totally dry conditions, unlike some heatwaves.
Cotton futures settled lower for a second day Tuesday, giving back more of the gains from a six-session advance to a two-year high.
December dropped 68 points to settle at 73.27 cents, below lows of the prior two sessions and in the lower half of its 183-point range from up 51 points at 74.46 cents to down 132 points to 72.63 cents. It touched the high in the first 30 minutes of overnight trading, hit the low around 11 a.m. CDT and could get no higher than 73.93 cents after that.
The market had generated overbought technical values. Nearby October settled down 67 points to 72.96 cents and March lost 49 points to close at 73.49 cents, moving to a premium over December.
Volume slipped to an estimated 28,079 lots from 30,398 lots the previous session when spreads accounted for 10,766 lots or 35%, EFP 27 lots and EFS 22 lots. Options volume totaled 6,063 calls and 10,095 puts.
Prolonged hot weather the first half of July is on track to threaten or set a new monthly heat record for the cotton area of the Texas High Plains around Lubbock, according to the National Weather Service.
Temperatures commonly peaked in the upper 90s and lower triple digits during the afternoon hours, the NWS reported, while lows fell only into the 70s in most spots.
The hottest day at Lubbock was 109 degrees on July 7, shattering the previous date record of 103 degrees set in 1998 and tying with three other days for the sixth warmest day ever.
Temperatures backed off a bit July 8-10 with highs in the upper 90s. This was followed by four consecutive 100-plus-degree days, including date record highs of 108 degrees on July 11 and again on July 13.
The records werenΆt limited to high temperatures, the NWS said. Several daily lows failed to drop below the middle or even upper 70s. The mercury on July 13 dipped to only 79 degrees, tying with four other days for the all-time warmest overnight low on record at Lubbock.
Average day temperatures — the high plus the low divided by two — included four of the top 10 warmest ever recorded at the Hub City. The July 13 average of 93.5 degrees tied for the fourth warmest, and 92.5 degrees on July 6, 7 and 8 ranked them all in a sixth-place tie.
Also, the average of 87.8 degrees from July 1-14 was 1.8 degrees warmer than the all-time warmest months on record — 86 degrees in July and August 2011. High-low temperatures since then have included 98-67 degrees on July 15, 97-72 on July 16, 99-67 on July 17 and 96-68 on July 18.
Unlike some heatwaves, this one hasnΆt been paired with totally dry conditions. Many days the intense heat combined with enough moisture and instability to generate isolated to scattered thunderstorms, NWS noted.
The storms produced pockets of significant rain. However, they also often were accompanied by strong to severe wind gusts and occasionally dropped small hail. Localized spots sustained significant damage, primarily from winds, though the winds and sand-blasting combined with hail damaged and destroyed some crops.
Forecasts into early next week are for high temperatures at Lubbock in the middle to upper 90s with lows around the low 70s, compared with normal readings of 93 and 68. No rain is foreseen.
Rainfall of 1.62 inches since June 1 at Lubbock is 2.62 inches below normal and down from 6.11 inches last year. Since Jan. 1, precipitation stands at 6.89 inches, down from the normal of 10.45 inches and 22.04 inches last year.
Futures open interest grew 2,991 lots Monday to 229,886, with DecemberΆs up 1,342 lots to 182,495 and MarchΆs up 1,450 lots to 29,979. Cert stocks declined 1,930 bales to 127,965.
